The Voice of Cities, States and Regions in the UNFCCC Climate Process
No ordinary COP: what to expect in Antalya
Ahead of COP31 in Antalya, the LGMA Constituency hosts its preview briefing on 29 October to make sense of a complex summit year. Speakers from the Turkish and Australian COP31 Presidencies, the High-Level Champions, the COP31 Special Envoy for Local and Regional Governments, and CHAMP leaders will join LGMA experts, with updates on the constituency’s final plans.
Register and join us on 29 October at your preferred time option:
The LGMA COP31 Position
The Paris Agreement and multilateral processes have built ambition through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the Global Stocktake and COP outcomes. Local, regional and subnational governments implement between 70% and 80% of the actions needed to deliver the Paris Agreement. That delivery capacity remains largely excluded from the structures of the multilateral process. Our Position sets out what Parties can do about this at COP31.
The Position calls for an energy transition outcome that accelerates subnational delivery, a meaningful subnational representation in the Belém-Antalya Mechanism for Global Just Transitions, climate finance architectures that reach the subnational level, continued reliance on independent science, a single formal space for Parties and subnational governments to address the barriers to multilevel action, and faster delivery of the Global Goal on Adaptation and National Adaptation Plans through integrated local action. An accompanying Guidance for Negotiators offers proposed negotiating text on ten priority topics.
Endorsed by 80 networks of subnational governments, our Position serves as the basis for our interventions and advocacy leading up to and at COP31. It is integrated into our longer-term advocacy strategy towards COP32 and COP33.
LGMA at COP31
From 9 to 20 November 2026, the LGMA brings the voice of local, regional and subnational governments to COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye. Our engagement is guided by the LGMA Constituency COP31 Position, developed through the Constituency’s thematic Working Groups and endorsed by 80 networks representing tens of thousands of governments worldwide. It sets out what local, regional and subnational governments ask of Parties in Antalya, with an accompanying Guidance for Negotiators offering proposed text on ten priority topics.
In the Blue Zone, the Multilevel Action Pavilion serves as the gathering place for cities, regions and states at COP31, where subnational leaders meet national negotiators, ministers, civil society and experts. The Pavilion is co-convened by ICLEI, the LGMA Constituency, the Zero Waste Foundation and the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, with Bloomberg Philanthropies as an organizing partner.
Watch the fourth all-Constituency briefing
Nine days before COP31 opens in Antalya, Türkiye, the LGMA Constituency held its final all-constituency briefing of the year. The Turkish and Australian COP31 Presidencies set out their priorities, from the Action Agenda’s ten themes to the state of the negotiations after Pre-COP in Fiji. CHAMP, the Climate Champions team and UN-Habitat shared their plans for Antalya, and the LGMA Working Group leads gave updates on adaptation, just transition, multilevel governance and climate finance. The briefing closed with the LGMA’s own engagement plan for COP31.
Keep up-to-date with the LGMA
Every month, you’ll receive updates about how cities, states and regions are engaging in the global climate agenda and other global sustainability processes, prepared for you by the Global Advocacy and Communications teams at ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.
Our bulletin will be highlighting developments and key topics from the global climate arena to orient local and subnational governments on the important issues of multilevel governance and progress in the global climate negotiations through the year, and in the leadup to COP31.
Highlighted initiatives
Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) for Climate Action
Launched at COP28, CHAMP focuses on enhancing multilevel governance to ensure that climate commitments are not only made at the national level but also effectively implemented through coordinated efforts at all levels.
It aims to drive more ambitious climate action by fostering collaboration between different levels of government, including national, regional, and local authorities, as well as non-state actors such as businesses and civil society.
Town Hall COPs
By hosting annual mini-COPs, local and subnational governments, along with their citizens, can engage in climate action by turning their city halls and other local venues into COP-like platforms.
Piloted in 2023 as “local stocktakes,” Town Hall COPs have since become a way for local and subnational governments to assess their climate progress, share insights, and collaborate with national governments. Importantly, they help integrate local voices into global climate policies, particularly countries’ Paris Agreement plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions.
Sustainable Urban Resilience for the Next Generation (SURGe)
We need effective multi-level governance to transform cities. To achieve this vision, the COP27 Presidency has launched the SURGe Initiative with the objective to enhance and accelerate local and urban climate action through multi-level governance, engagement, and delivery through five integrated tracks, contributing to achieving the Paris Climate Goals and Sustainable Development Goals.
SURGe is developed in collaboration with UN-Habitat, facilitated by ICLEI, and endorsed by 70+ global partners.
Cities, states and regions ready to move beyond recognition to collaborative implementation
COP30 delivered important political recognition of local and subnational action, and the LGMA welcomed outcomes such as the Action Agenda’s explicit focus on cities and the creation of a Just Transition Mechanism.
However, the final texts fell short of establishing a mandated multilevel governance framework or predictable, territorial finance to empower local implementers.
What guided our work 2025
We welcomed the Brazilian Presidency’s call for a mutirão, a society-wide mobilization to achieve climate goals. From the Paris Agreement to the Glasgow Climate Pact and the COP28 UAE Consensus, the international climate regime has progressively recognized the essential role of local and other subnational governments.
Through our vision for COP30 and beyond, we are pushing for a new phase of climate governance, one where multilevel action is no longer voluntary or symbolic, but an operational core of the UNFCCC process. This joint Position urged to work towards a formal UNFCCC work program on multilevel and urbanization, better alignment of adaptation indicators with local needs, recognition of subnational roles in just transitions, localized access to climate finance, and connect multilevel climate governance to the UN80 reforms.
The LGMA Constituency at COP30
COP30 delivered important political recognition of local and subnational action, and the LGMA welcomed outcomes such as the Action Agenda’s explicit focus on cities and the creation of a Just Transition Mechanism.
However, the final texts fell short of establishing a mandated multilevel governance framework or predictable, territorial finance to empower local implementers.
Read our COP30 outcome statement, check out or daily recap videos, photos and interventions delivered at COP30 on behalf of the LGMA.
The Cities & Regions Hub at COP30
With its roots in the legacy of the Multilevel Action & Urbanization Pavilion, the Cities & Regions Hub served as the central platform for cities, states, regions, and their partners during COP30. Co-convened by UN-Habitat and ICLEI, and hosted by the Ministry of Cities of Brazil, the Hub was the focal point for the LGMA Constituency in Belém. It elevated the role of subnational governments as key actors in the COP process and anchored their contributions to the global climate agenda.
